Sunday, July 18, 2004 Pinoy hostage a priority over foreign commitments: Palace
MANILA -- The Filipino hostage in Iraq has come to represent all Filipinos working overseas, and his safety justifies Manila's decision to pull its troops from Iraq despite commitments to foreign allies, the presidential spokesman said Saturday.
The remaining 32 members of the Philippine humanitarian contingent in Iraq are also set to leave for Kuwait on Sunday, an ABS-CBN report said.
Spokesman Ignacio Bunye in a statement said the hostage, truck driver Angelo dela Cruz, "has become the Filipino everyman. A symbol of the hardworking Filipino who has ventured to foreign lands to earn an honest living."
Dela Cruz's kidnappers have threatened to behead him if Manila does not pull its contingent from Iraq by the end of July.
Arroyo's decision to withdraw the 51 Filipino soldiers and police officers ahead of schedule has drawn sharp criticism from her allies.
The United States and Australia have said the withdrawal amounts to capitulation to terrorism and warned that it will not buy Filipinos immunity from further attacks.
"Whatever the outcome of this hostage drama, we can assure everyone that President Gloria has done what needs to be done and she has delivered the optimum response to this issue both to the Filipino people and the world," Bunye said.
Asked earlier in a radio interview if the withdrawal would weaken the Philippines' international standing, Bunye replied, "What we think of, first and foremost, is the national interest of the Philippines."
This came as an air transport official confirmed that the first 10 Philippine troops to leave Iraq would return home Monday on a Kuwaiti Airlines flight as part of the pullout demanded by the Islamic militants.
The head of the contingent, Brigadier-General Jovito Palparan, who left Iraq with the 10, will remain in Jordan for unspecified reasons, the official said.
An ABS-CBN report said the remaining Filipino soldiers and policemen will possibly pull out of Iraq on Sunday as preparations are already being made.
The report said six military men and a policeman were the last batch of the Philippine contingent that left the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad.
They are expected to arrive in the province of Hilla in south-central Iraq where most of the multinational forces are based.
Six other policemen who are training Iraqi policemen are also on their way to Hilla preparing for their pullout of Iraq.
However, the report said the there has been no specific time yet as to the actual pull out of the remaining contingents since a lot of equipment has to be prepared when they leave.
Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Bayani Mangibin said 11 members of the humanitarian contingent arrived around midnight at Camp Doha northwest of Kuwait City.
Mangibin said the 11-member unit was preparing to leave for Manila aboard a commercial flight.
The remaining troops would leave Iraq soon, he said, adding: "but definitely not today, they are still making preparations."
A well-placed government source said intermediaries in Iraq told them the militants have said they would likely free dela Cruz by the end of the month if the contingent is withdrawn as soon as possible.
Bunye assured dela Cruz's family that his safety was Arroyo's primary concern.
"Malacanang (the presidential palace) is doing everything in its power to deliver Angelo back to his family," Bunye said in the radio interview.
Manila's announcement deprives the United States of another ally in Iraq. Spain and several Latin American countries withdrew their troops after the deadly Madrid train bombings in March.
Arroyo's decision to give in to the kidnappers is seen by analysts as a move to shore up her shaky domestic standing even if it weakens Philippine credibility overseas.
The government has been under a virtual state of siege since the hostage crisis broke last week with Arroyo refusing to meet the press and state agencies imposing a strict news blackout on efforts to free dela Cruz.
Bunye justified this, saying that Manila had to be careful to avoid angering the militants holding dela Cruz.
In a related development, the youngest child of dela Cruz, three-year-old Jefferson, a special child was rushed to the Angeles City Medical Center Saturday.
Jefferson was suffering from pneumonia, Dr. Daniel Cruz said in a television interview.
He said prolonged stay in an airconditioned room could have weakened the resistance of the child resulting to his sickness.
Dela Cruz children are all in a safehouse in Angeles pending negotiations for their father's release.
As of press time, Jefferson is reportedly in a stable condition already.
Meanwhile, the family of dela Cruz is receiving a lot of offers from various groups, among them is Senator Jamby Madrigal.
Madrigal offered to shoulder the educational expenses of the eight children of dela Cruz under the Jose Abad Madrigal scholarship program.
Another group also offered to provide livelihood training programs for the relatives of dela Cruz while others offered to finish his house is Buenavista, Mexico Pampanga.
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